The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Satellite television has become increasingly popular due to a wide variety of content and the quality of content available. A satellite television system typically includes a set top box and/or other POP devices that are used to receive satellite signals and decode the satellite signals for use on a television. The POP devices typically have memory associated therewith. The memory may include a digital video recorder or the like as well as storage for an operating code.
Content providers and/or service providers may provide a variety of content to POP devices of customers. The content may be broadcasted via wireless and/or wired networks to the service providers and/or POP devices. The content may be provided in the form of audio, video, movies, advertisements (ADs), etc. Available content is typically received at a set top box (or user receiving device) and displayed to the user using a guide. The guide typically includes channels and timeslots as well as programming information for each information timeslot. The programming information may include the content title and other identifiers such as actor information and the like. The user selects a channel via the guide and the set top box (STB) then displays the channel on a display (e.g., a television).
Customers (or users) of a service provider can subscribe to various packages. Each of the packages provides access to a certain set of channels. The customers contact the service provider to establish an account with the service provider. While setting up an account, a customer selects a package and provides billing information to the service provider. The customer is then able to access channels in the selected package.
In addition to the channels in a selected package that a customer is signed up to receive, the customer may also receive additional content. This may include the customer selecting a channel, program and/or video via the STB or other POP device and/or contacting the service provider to request for the selected channel, program and/or video. For example, a customer may request a video, obtain authorization to receive the video, and receive the video at a STB of the customer. This is often referred to as pay-per-view (PPV) or video-on-demand (VOD). The video may be transmitted to the STB and then displayed on a display (or television) of the STB. The customer may control when the video is displayed.
Programs, PPV videos, VOD videos, and/or other content may be interrupted to display ADs. The broadcast industry is beginning to use Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)-35 messages, defined in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 2014 SCTE-35 standard, to carry a variety of program related types of information for ADs. The information includes cueing start, duration, and end of advertisement opportunities and additional information. The SCTE-35 messages also include, for example, signaling of beginning and end of chapters, segments and programs, as well as signaling of content that cannot be streamed over the Internet.